09-30-2018, 01:40 PM
Well this weekend we put the little 6,000 BTU solar-powered window air conditioner to the test. I had originally bought it when SO2 was a "thing" but this was the first real test fighting the oppressive heat in our main living space. I used an 8' long drape I bought on an Amazon sale (it was $5) to block off the living/kitchen/dining/laundry rooms from the hallway. The A/C brought the humidity down over 30% and took several degrees off the temperature compared to outside. It was running in a much larger space than a unit of this size is designed for and while it didn't make the room "cool", it definitely made it more comfortable. In the late afternoon when the sun started hitting our south windows rather directly the unit could no longer stave off the inevitable and it made more sense to open up the windows and let the breeze in. We still ran the unit until the sun's angle dropped solar production below the excess needed to power the unit. The same-sized unit in our bedroom drops the temp quite comfortably in about 15 minutes and to "meat locker" feeling temperature in about 30 minutes. And it's nice to get the humidity scrubbed out every now and then.
We normally use our "excess" solar electricity to power an LED grow light for romaine, spinach, and a generic salad mix but when it's hot AF I'd rather run the A/C. I was still able to power the grow light for a few hours plus it always has the ambient light in the lanai.
We normally use our "excess" solar electricity to power an LED grow light for romaine, spinach, and a generic salad mix but when it's hot AF I'd rather run the A/C. I was still able to power the grow light for a few hours plus it always has the ambient light in the lanai.
